First, choose something that you know would make you happy to accomplish or obtain in life (that is within your control.)
Second, promise to spend a certain amount of time each day working towards accomplishing or obtaining it.
That's it, no more, no less. Along the way celebrate the good things and forget the bad ones.
- Curtis Thomas
July 29, 2008 I Think My Life Is....
Each experience we go through leaves a mark on us. It’s worth noting however, that the same experience can leave different marks on different people. Some trials that crush some people only make others stronger.
If you think your life is hard it will be.
If you think your life is easy it will be.
- Curtis Thomas
July 28, 2008 Recipes and Committees
A recipe without more than one ingredient is not much of a recipe.A committee without more than one person having a say is not much of a committee.If committee members are always of the same opinion there might as well only be one person in the committee.
Working together for the common good usually results in the best decision.So the next time you meet someone who has a different opinion then yours, listen and try to see where they are coming from.If everybody had the same opinion as you life would be pretty bland.
Curtis Thomas
July 25, 2008 "Last Lecture" Professor Dies
Randy Pausch, a professor whose "last lecture" about facing terminal cancer became an Internet sensation has died. He was 47.
Pausch was diagnosed with incurable pancreatic cancer in September 2006.
The speech last fall was part of a series Carnegie Mellon called "The Last Lecture," where professors were asked to think about what matters to them most and give a hypothetical final talk.
"The lecture was for my kids, but if others are finding value in it, that is wonderful," Pausch wrote on his Web site. "But rest assured; I'm hardly unique."
As Pausch did I would like to focus on the positive side of what Pausch did with his 47 years of life not that his life was cut short at just 47 years of age. Here are a few quotes from Pausch knowing he was dying from incurable pancreatic cancer (diagnosed in September of 2006.)
"If I don't seem as depressed or morose as I should be, sorry to disappoint you."
"I mean I don't know how to not have fun. I'm dying and I'm having fun. And I'm going to keep having fun every day I have left. Because there's no other way to play it."
On Feb. 15, exactly six months after he was told he had three to six months of healthy living left, Pausch posted a photo of himself to show he was "still alive & healthy" on his blog.
What a great example of living each day to its fullest. Today’s good news: Recognize what you do have not what you don’t have and make the most of what you have.
(If you would like to listen/watch Pausch’s last lecture you can click on the link above titled “The Last Lecture”
-Curtis Thomas
July 23, 2008 Somedays
Somedays, you just have to smile and remember it could be worse.
July 22, 2008 A Few Good....
The word "good" has many definitions. Here are a few good ones from dictionary.com:
morally excellent; virtuous; righteous; pious: a good man.
of high quality; excellent.
right; proper; fit: It is good that you are here. His credentials are good.
well-behaved: a good child.
kind, beneficent, or friendly: to do a good deed.
honorable or worthy; in good standing: a good name.
genuine; not counterfeit: a good quarter.
favorable; propitious: good news.
cheerful; optimistic; amiable: in good spirits.
loyal:
favorably regarded (used as an epithet for a ship, town, etc.): the good ship Syrena.
moral righteousness; virtue: to be a power for good.
-Curtis Thomas
July 21, 2008 The Car Wreck
I want you to picture yourself driving in heavy traffic on the way home. A few miles from home the guy behind you crashes into your car. Now let's look at two different scenarios:
Scenario I:
You get out of your car to go back and inspect the damage. When you look in the car that hit you you see half a dozen beer cans on the seat, hear the radio blaring as loud as it will go, and see the guy just starting to realize what has happened.
How do you feel? How do you feel towards the guy that hit you?
Scenario II:
You get out of your car to go back and inspect the damage. When you look in the car that hit you you see a guy who is having a stroke.
How do you feel? How do you feel towards the guy that hit you?
In the first scenario most people would feel anger at the guy and want to make sure he is punished for his actions.
In the second scenario most people would feel concern for the guy and want to make sure he receives proper medical attention.
July 18, 2008 People
Our conversations with other people have a tremendous influence on our attitude, outlook, mood, and life.
Who was the last person you talked to that inspired you?
Who was the last person you talked to that irritated you?
Who was the last person you talked to that made you smile?
Who was the last person you talked to that made you laugh?
Who was the last person you talked to that made you cry?
Who was the last person you talked to that truly listened?
Find people who uplift, inspire, and make you laugh by talking with them is worth the effort.
-Curtis Thomas
July 17, 2008 Meetings
I've been in meetings for most of the day. Hopefully the desired outcome for any meeting is progress. If you get ready to leave a meeting and don't feel like much progress has been made make a promise to yourself that you will change or accomplish something (anything) so that you don't feel like you have wasted your time. It's a good little habit to start.
Instead of meetings you could do the same for every day. Before going to bed each night make sure you have accomplished something even if it's small.
-Curtis Thomas
July 15, 2008 Participate
I often meet people who seem to just be taking what life gives them one day at a time. No effort, no involvement, no commitment, no sacrifice, no growth. It’s similar to those people who go to meetings, seminars, workshops, conferences, conventions, or other gatherings and choose not to participate. I find it interesting when someone spends time, effort, and money to show up to something and yet act as if they aren’t there.
As most regrets in life come from what we didn’t do, not what we did do, get out and participate in your own life. Do something fun. Do something good. Get involved. Don’t just show up, participate.
-Curtis Thomas
July 14, 2008 A Helping Hand
I had the opportunity to help a family load their U-Haul today as they prepare to start a new chapter in their life. The family lost their father from cancer about a year ago. As we loaded tables, couches, a washers, a dryer, and many more items into the truck it was wonderful to have that feeling inside you get when you help somebody out.
Today’s post is an invitation to get out and help somebody out. It could be as simple as opening a door for somebody or deciding that you are going to participate in this year’s Nations of Service Day on 8/8/08. That’s right it’s less than a month away!!!!! If you want to sign up to organize a project (it's not that hard, I promise) or participate we’ll help you get involved. Make it a good day!
-Curtis Thomas
July 11, 2008 Paths
We are either on the right path in life or we aren’t. Our life path is actually made up of many areas, so at times it might be hard to discern whether we are on the right path or not. We might be headed in the right direction in one area and at the same time in a wrong direction in another area.
These different areas may include our spouse, kids, family, career, hobbies, religion, dreams, and our overall purpose. The more of these areas we can align on the right path the better we feel.
Don’t get confused and feel that you need to align everything by tomorrow. Life is a journey and it takes time to get it in order. If you remember this you’ll save yourself a lot of heart ache.
-Curtis Thomas
July 10, 2008 Information Overload
Between telemarketers, spam, junk mail, forwarded emails, the internet, text messages, unlimited talking plans, e-zines, newsletters, blogs, rss feeds, cell phones, voice mail, call waiting, and facebook the amount of information that crosses our eyes, ears, and minds is boggling.
We have gone from a time when we searched for most of our information to a time when we sift through most of our information. Rather than search for the good it’s become a must to sift out the bad. The amount of unwanted information that we come across daily could crash most of today’s computers!
Being always “connected” has its advantages, there is no doubt about it, but taking at least a little time each day to “disconnect” from your information overload will return added focus, peace, and happiness.
So go ahead, I know you can do it, shut off your phone, step away from your computer, turn off the television, and for a few minutes do nothing, relax, think of a good memory that brings a smile to your face. See you feel better already, just thinking about it!
-Curtis Thomas
July 9, 2008 The Fence
Like a fence it seems that every issue has two sides. We seem to be very good at staking out what belongs to us and how things look from our side of the fence. I wonder how different things would be in this world if we tried a little harder to see things from the other side of the fence. I’m certainly not saying we should not stick up for what we know to be correct.
I am saying that many times the best solution might be a compromise. I am saying that the view from the other side of the fence certainly looks different from your side of the fence. I am saying that we excel in sharing, voicing, and almost forcing why our view is the best (many times before we have even listened to the others reasoning.)
If you have tried to view your concern or issue from the other side of the fence, and you still feel you are right and the opposing team still feels they are right it’s not the end of the world. Remember they are just as entitled to an opinion as you are and that a future positive outcome has less chance of happening if you turn negative, judgmental, or angry.
-Curtis Thomas
July 8, 2008 Complain or Complement
Each day we have opportunities to complain or complement. If you have ever come across someone in life that can always find the bright side in everything you’ll agree they are an amazing rarity. What an uplift it is to be in a difficult circumstance or situation with one who always looks for the positive.
There is no question that every one of us has weaknesses. If you have ever come across someone in life that can always find the good in everyone you’ll agree they are an amazing rarity. What an uplift it is to be in a difficult circumstance or situation with one who always looks for the good in everyone.
Yes we all have good and bad in us. What do you choose to focus on?
Yes we all have good and bad days. What do you choose to focus on?
You can make everyday a good one by choosing not to complain. You can make everyday a good one for others by choosing to complement them.
-Curtis Thomas
July 7, 2008 Stop, Go, Prepare to Stop
Traffic lights try to make an organized success of what would otherwise be chaos. With 3 simple colors we know that we should stop, go, or prepare to stop. Would it be a good idea in life to have three colors telling us what to do each time we started a new journey in life? I’m sure that in life I have at times stopped when I should have gone, gone when I should have stopped, or prepared to stop when I should have floored it. This “life light” sounds like a good idea at first, but would it really be a good idea to “know before you go” in life?
I guess one of the differences between traffic and life is that when I’m in traffic I am simply trying to get from point a to point b, and in life I am trying to learn and grow through experiences. I learn a lot from my mistakes in life and from trial and error. If I had a light shining for each path ahead in life I wouldn’t learn much. As learning is one of the greatest reasons we are here this would prove to be a huge disadvantage. So the next time you are driving and hit 3 red lights in a row, be glad we only have traffic lights and not life lights.
We are all busy. It’s hard to squeeze enough time out of each day to get everything accomplished that we need to, or even have to. When working on a set project we often have numerous “to do’s” that interrupt our focus or come to our attention.
I once read that if something pops up during a project and you can finish it within 2 minutes or less you should finish it on the spot because putting it aside and doing it later will take more time to accomplish later. So what are your thoughts? Do you think this is a good time saving strategy? What other time-saving strategies do you use? You can email us your comments using info@GrowingInGoodness.com
July 1, 2008 Caption Contest Winner
We want to thank everybody who participated in the caption contest last month. Sometimes in life you win for simply showing up. We’ve decided to give everybody who sent in a caption for the contest a lifetime membership to Growing In Goodness. This way everybody gets to keep thinking that their caption was the best and everybody is a winner! Congratulations we welcome you aboard and know you’ll love your daily uplifting emails and the newsletter.
